Sanderson-MacLeod, Inc. v. Hobbs Medical, Inc. (19-cv-30013).

Judge Mastroianni granted Hobbs’ request for attorney’s fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285, finding the case to be exceptional. Judge Mastroianni dismissed the complaint for failing to provide sufficient factual detail or legal underpinning to state a claim on which relief could be granted. The complaint, which had already been amended once, failed to specify which products were accused of infringement, and failed to describe how any products infringed the patents, and was dismissed with prejudice. Noting that the pleading standards had been established years before the complaint was filed, and that Hobbs had notified Sanderson-MacLeod prior to filing its motion to dismiss of the legal issues it would present, but Sanderson-MacLeod failed to withdraw the complaint or move to further amend. Judge Mastroianni referred he case to Magistrate Judge Robertson to determine the fee award.

About this blog…

The D. Mass. IP Litigation Blog will monitor the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, with a special interest on patent, trademark, trade secret, antitrust, and copyright litigation. Since the Supreme Court’s TC Heartland decision, we have seen an increase in intellectual property filings in D. Mass. due to the high concentration of technology and life sciences companies in the Commonwealth and because of the Court’s ability to handle complex, accelerated matters. We plan on providing our readers with timely insights on recent cases.